Indian Army - Mitsubishi Motors in a fix over poor quality of SUVs

The Indian Army and car manufacturers Mitsubishi Motors are in the middle of a row over the quality of Pajeros, an SUV, supplied to the sensitive Indo-China stretch of the border in Sikkim.Jayanta Gupta | TNN | August 22, 2016, 14:38 IST

KOLKATA: The Indian Army and car manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors are in the middle of a row over the quality of Pajeros, an SUV , supplied to the sensitive Indo-China stretch of the border in Sikkim. The "malfunctioning" engine of some of the SUVs has forced the Army to bring a few of them down to Kolkata.

But Mitsubishi has said the problem has arisen because of the Army's insistence on using poor quality diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which is 70% kerosene, instead of an imported additive suggested by the carmakers.

So, the next time you see a Pajero `flagcar' with a military registration number on the streets of Kolkata, don't be surprised. It's one of the three vehicles that is now being used at Fort William, the Army's Eastern Command Headquarters. Even Eastern Army commander Lt-Gen Praveen Bakshi uses one of the SUVs. According to a senior officer, this is due to compulsion, not choice.

"The Pajeros supplied to Sikkim did not perform up to our expectations, particularly in the higher altitudes. Their engines developed problems.The situation was so bad that we had to bring down three of them to the plains. It would serve no purpose to allow them to rot. We are trying to make best use of these vehicles," a Fort William spokesperson said.

Krishna Kumar, an executive with Mitsubishi Motors, countered: "There is no problem with the vehicle or its engine. In fact, the Pajero is a robust vehicle that has performed extremely well in extreme weather conditions. The problems are related to usage of poor quality of diesel, which has maximum kerosene content." Krishna Kumar, an executive with Mitsubishi Motors, said: "Due to the use of different fuel, it developed major issues in the fuel injection pumps and related engine parts. We have extended our support to use additive to avoid diesel freezing, but they have never followed our suggestions. Poor maintenance is also a problem."

The decision to procure Pa jeros was taken in 2010-11. Use of similar SUVs by People's Liberation Army (PLA) on the other side of the border may have prompted senior officials in the ministry of defence to place the order with Mitsubishi Motors.The vehicles of choice by the Army in the eastern Himalayas are Maruti Gypsies and Mahindra four-wheel drives.

Between 2011 and 2014, a dozen Pajeros were sent to Sikkim and Mitsubishi Motors agree that at least two had to be brought down.

At high altitudes and subzero temperatures, diesel freezes and engines stall. To prevent this, Mitsubishi suggested use of an imported additive, sources said, adding that the Pajeros of the other side of the border were working fine.

An Eastern Command spokesperson said he wasn't aware of any such interaction between senior officials and the company. "Maybe it took place in Delhi. We aren't aware of that in Kolkata," he said.